I think the people of Coolgardie ought to erect a memorial pillar to mark the wonderful spot which may well be called the Mother of Coolgardie. Little did the pioneers think, when they camped on this spot a few years ago, that the arid desert would turn into a fine city, with more golden country farther out, and other cities, with tens of thousands of people earning good wages, and many amassing large fortunes. Such a transformation in so short a time the world has never known.
After leaving Bayley’s I crossed through a network of poles until I struck the main road, and drove off to Bonnie Vale, which deserves its name, the country being very hilly and quite surprisingly fresh and green. Here many fine mines, viz., the Vale of Coolgardie, New Victoria Consols, and others, under the control of Mr. A. E. Morgans, the member for the district, are in full swing, and only wanting plenty of water to give big results. A very nice little town lies close to the mines. In another direction are the Big Blow and the Flagstaff; then come Burbanks and Burbanks Birthday Gift. Burbanks Birthday Gift is really a splendid mine. The main shaft, with its steel poppet-heads, is well worth a visit, and so are the interesting models of different parts of the mine, which were sent to the Paris Exhibition. Lady Charlotte Mine is well worth inspection; a fine new battery has lately been erected, and operations are now in full swing. The gold I saw from this mine—what they call “coarse free gold”—was very splendid, and the quartz with the gold showing through was exceedingly rich.
I next visited the famous Londonderry Mine, some five miles farther on through the bush. I had some difficulty in finding my way, as, after leaving the last mine a few miles behind, there were several tracks, and I did not know which to take. However, I took the one to the right, and, after going on another mile, came across a party of five prospectors, who looked somewhat surprised when I drove up and asked to be directed to the Londonderry. They were, however, most civil, and gave me the requisite directions, one even offering to accompany me. That, however, I thought unnecessary, so I drove off, and soon came in sight of the big poppet-heads of Londonderry, and none too soon, for I had just discovered that a portion of the buggy I was driving had given way and I could not have gone on much farther. The mine and its surroundings gave one a very favourable impression. Everything looked bright and nice. I drove up to the manager’s office, who immediately sent a man to take the buggy to the blacksmith’s shop for repair, the horse to the stables for a feed, after which he kindly invited me to his house, and giving instructions to his housekeeper to attend to all my wants, had to leave me, as it was time to go down the mine for inspection. I was not at all sorry for a rest in a cool room, with a cup of tea and some excellent cakes made by the housekeeper, for after the drive of ten miles in the hot sun through the Coolgardie bush I felt that there are drawbacks to travelling. When the manager came up from below he escorted me over the mine and showed me everything of interest. Londonderry was, after Bayley’s, the richest find near Coolgardie, and held a wonderful record. The mine is the brightest-looking I have seen. Everything about it seemed spick and span; the manager’s house was a model of comfort. There was a store, a blacksmith’s shop, offices, and, indeed, every appurtenance that could be desired for a mine. The manager unlocked the great iron safe and showed me such gold that I had never seen before. I felt like Shakespeare’s Benedick, “I did not think that I should live to see such gold.” It was really the most brilliant and beautiful sight I had ever seen. One large block of white quartz was thickly studded with gold in nuggets all over it. I wanted to pick one off, but on trying to do so found it firmly imbedded in the quartz. Over a dozen magnificent specimens came from one rich pocket. Down below in this wonderful mine, at the 200-foot level, a huge case is fitted up with iron doors for the reception of the rich surplus ore that the safes cannot hold. I admired some peculiar-looking specimens that I was told were felspar, which is valuable for glass-making, and is found here in large quantities.
JUBILEE AT RED HILL MINE
After all the kindness I had received from the manager I bade him a reluctant farewell, as it was getting late and a ten-mile drive through strange country to Coolgardie lay before me, but I knew there was a moon that night, and did not fear the Australian bush at all, so I refused the offer of an escort, and drove off by a different road from the one I came for I wanted to see the township of Londonderry before I left. This is about half a mile from the mine, past the tidy camps of the men, who all came out and bade me a cheery good-bye. I stopped long enough in the town to see that it is remarkably well laid out, with a very wide principal street, a few very nice buildings, viz., post-office, store, hotel and church; also a nice recreation-ground, where a number of the miners and other townfolk were playing cricket. But I had to hurry away, so, turning round a corner and following the telegraph-line, I started for Coolgardie. The sun was just going down, the heat of the day was over, and with the evening a refreshing breeze had arisen. I drove on quite happily. Nothing happened, except that I met two swagmen in the Bush, who looked at me so hard that I must confess I whipped up the horse and got on as quickly as I could. I was now on quite a different road from the one I came by. Everything looked strange, and I began to wonder whether I was lost, but consoled myself by looking at the telegraph-line, which I knew must lead to Coolgardie. The Wealth of Nations Mine lies in this direction, one of the Western Australian golcondas of early days, where discoveries of gold, frequently in pockets—small holes containing comparatively large quantities of gold—such as had not previously been known, were made near the surface, and caused the wildest excitement. It was, however, too late to go there now, so I continued on the same road. Another mile brought a big mine in view, and to my relief I found myself at Burbanks again, and on the main road, so I was all right, and drove merrily along, meeting only a carter or so walking by the side of their teams, who, seeing a lady driving alone, said, “Good-night, missus,” and went steadily on. As we got to the rise of the hill at Montana the presence of hundreds of lights gave me welcome to the Queen City of Gold, so there was a safe ending to that day’s journey, and both myself and horse were quite ready for a good supper when we arrived at the hotel.
Next morning I started for Hampton Plains, which is a large area of ground taken up many years ago by an English syndicate at 2s. 6d. per acre for pastoral purposes. However, when the rush of ’92 broke out at Coolgardie, the news travelled to England that the great rush was only a few miles from their territory. No wonder that they then immediately sent out an expert, Mr. Lapage, M.I.E.C.E., to reconnoitre. On Mr. Lapage’s arrival he found that a considerable number of alluvial surface holes had already been struck, and 1000 ounces of gold had been taken out within their boundary. Going over the land he found shows of gold in various places; owing to the scarcity of water, nothing much, however, had ever been developed there until recently, when the estate was thrown open to prospectors. Large brickworks are now started on one part of the plains, and the demand from Kalgoorlie for bricks is so great that the company have lately duplicated their plant in order to make bricks enough to meet the orders they receive.
On my way to Hampton Plains I called at Bayley’s South, which are yielding up very good gold. I saw a lot of ore come up out of the mine that showed gold distinctly. I felt myself becoming quite an expert now. The ore brought up here is in part hornblende schist, carrying very visible gold. The manager told me the gold had evidently been shed from the reef into the surrounding country rock, where there are cross reefs. I also saw some ironstone, which I was told was very rich, but the gold in it was so fine that one required to use a magnifying-glass, with the aid of which I could distinctly see it.